Building, restoration, and repair with epoxy

Tag Archives: Joe Parker

We sailors sometimes think of ourselves as adventurers and explorers, self sufficient and capable of handling the vagaries of wind and weather. But our view of voyaging includes refrigeration to keep the food and drink cold, sail handling and navigation systems to make sailing easy and safe, and a good dry, comfortable boat so we remain content while sailing to the ends of our own personal world. When we compare that to the skills and equipment of early voyagers, it can be almost embarrassing. Continue reading →

“Maybe the prettiest yacht ever built.” That is what some folks say about Bolero. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, still, very few boaters would be able to take a quick glance at this yacht and not continue to stare and measure every detail with their eyes. Any sailor would imagine themselves on board sailing for Bermuda or their destination of choice. Her proportions are just right and the construction details are elegant and refined. Continue reading →

Before you begin a project, it is a good idea to consider all of your options. Information about products or methods you may want to use is often available on product labels, from manufacturers, or your own experience. However, many times the information you need to make good choices is just not available. Then your best option is to test. In our most recent renovation, we had to figure out what to test for and how to do it. Continue reading →

Casting aluminum- filled epoxy frames

By Joe Parker

To prep our 30-year-old Allied Seabreeze 35 for a paint job, we had to remove the window frames. These frames were cast aluminum and original equipment. The outer frames were thicker and had not been broken. However, once we began to remove the inner frames, it was obvious that they had been removed for previous paint jobs. The aluminum castings had been broken and repaired by simply gluing them back together with an unidentifiable filled adhesive. Continue reading →

Keeping your boat dry for livability and longevity

By Joe Parker

You decide to head down to your boat to take advantage of a beautiful Saturday afternoon in late August. You haven’t had a chance to use your boat in about three or four weeks, and you are really looking forward to catching up with your friends at the harbor. Continue reading →

When two or more fiberglass laminators meet, the discussion always turns to resin application and hand wet out tools. In some respects, this is much like a political or religious debate. I thought it might be helpful to describe some of these tools, and identify (as I see it) the best tools for laminating. Continue reading →

A common source of problems on open runabouts and pontoon boats is the cockpit floor or deck. This part of the boat is usually just a layer of plywood screwed down to the top of stringers and frames. Many have a layer of carpet or vinyl flooring material glued onto the plywood. Continue reading →

Customers frequently ask us how to calculate the amount of fiberglass fabric or epoxy necessary to build or repair a fiberglass laminate. My son Brad and I are about to build a fiberglass canoe, so I will use that as an example to describe how to determine material needs for a project. Continue reading →

Use seasoned lumber

Even though your lumber is dry, the environmental conditions in many homes will cause dimensional changes in the piece after it is built. A good way to avoid this problem is to season the lumber in the house for a couple of weeks prior to building the piece. Do not season material in a basement or garage workshop unless you intend to keep the piece there after completion. Continue reading →

In Epoxyworks #3 (Fall 1993), Robert Monroe discussed the idea that polyester is subject to degradation in much the same way as wood is affected by rot. Many cases of blistering are actually much more than a blister directly under the gelcoat. These blisters may be the first sign of laminate degradation. Once this degradation begins, it may be as difficult to stop and just as damaging as rot is in wood. Continue reading →